It didn’t work 18 months ago when he was playing in North London, but Luka Modric is a different player now with Real Madrid, reportedly unhappy. This might give Chelsea an opportunity to sign him from the La Liga champions.

Modric isn’t setteling in the Spanish captial as well as he has hoped for. During the summer, it was hard to see why Real Madrid were so insistent on signing the Croatian, or at least getting him for the price Tottenham were asking for if they knew he wasn’t going to be a major part of their lineup.

Either as an attacking midfielder or as one of the two central ones, Modric is simply inferior to both Mesut Ozil and Xavi Alonso, while not having the physical traits and defensive abilities of Sami Khedira or Michael Essien when he plays in the middle.

While no one in Madrid has mentioned letting go of Modric, especially with the Champions League still in sight and a need for a wide squad, it doesn’t mean Modric isn’t thinking about returning to the Premier League, feeling he isn’t getting the kind of playing time he was hoping for.

Chelsea desperatley need a midfielder they can trust and actually start on consecutive matches, as it looks like the Rafa Benitez rotation isn’t the only reason the two men in the middle keep switching from match to match. Modric cost Real Madrid £40 million in the summer, but Chelsea might try and sign the player for £22 million, or maybe something a bit higher than that. There’s also the option of loaning Modric with a purchasing option at the end of the season, not having to worry about the UCL this season, having already getting themselves knocked out of the competition.

Tottenham didn’t want their star midfielder falling into the hands of their city rivals and made it impossible for Chelsea and Modric to get together in 2011. By selling to Real Madrid, a team Modric is simply not good enough to consistently start for, maybe Spurs paved the way for Modric to get to Stamford Bridge. He has appeared 24 times for Real this season in all competitions, scoring one goal and adding four assists.